Our Summer Holiday in the Dominican Republic

A few weeks ago, Brad and I ventured down to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for our summer getaway. We arrived on Sat night and stayed through Wednesday. What a beautiful place with crystal blue water, white sand beaches and palm trees everywhere! We were both really excited about the trip we had planned several months for. However, we only really enjoyed one full day there. The rest of the trip, Brad and I did not feel very well. Sunday was great and wonderful, but come Monday, I began to feel sick and that night, poor Brad came down with something horrible. Despite the way we felt, we still spent our time on the beach or by the pool, as we felt better when we were in the water, strange enough. So, this would somewhat explain why we are so late on updating the blog with our photos. Neither of us could bare to upload our photos and funny enough, this is the first time I've seen them!

Regardless, the trip was amazing and the resort was gorgeous. We even got to take a canoe out into the ocean and test our endurance...not so well! Ha! The two of us had such a fun time out there, trying to maneuver this boat against the current and just laughed! We had only hired the canoe for 3o minutes and half that time we were trying to make it off shore...ha! We did it though and loved it. The people were really friendly and they had a market right on the beach with local artists and vendors selling stuff from the island. The resort had a plethora of activities always going on which kept us visually entertained. Punta Cana is visited by so many different people and believe it or not, we were in the minority and it felt great! We haven't heard so many different languages since we moved from London. We will likely never go back b/c the memories aren't the greatest, but we're so thankful we had the chance to see this place that so many have boasted about...it certainly does resemble paradise! So, enjoy the pictures!

Seth loves to go cross-eyed without warning!

Ben with my dad.

Lindsay and Ben

Drew and Seth

Seth on his motorcycle!

My Neice and Nephews

Okay, so it's obvious that we love my neice and nephews and while we were home this past weekend, we took a lot of pics of them! Lindsay is 10, Ben is 5, Seth is 4, and Drew is 2 1/2. They love the camera, so it's easy to get some fun pics of them while they're hamming it up! Enjoy!

Daddy's 60th Birthday Bash in NC

This past weekend, Brad and I travelled to NC for my daddy's big 60th birthday party. We had been planning this for about 2 months and wanted it to be something special for him...it's not everyday you turn 60! So, we invited his entire family and close friends to come over to my brother Brian's house to hang out. We had BBQ catered in from Wilber's BBQ that is quite the place for NC BBQ, along with fried chicken, potato salad, cole slaw and yummy desserts. It was a typical party back home...pig pickin's aren't unusual in that part of the country (although, we didn't eat the pig straight from the cooker).

Later, my dad, uncle and his son played the guitars and sang a little. Playing the guitar is just part of being in the Daniels family...most of the men in my family do. So, it was like being at a blue grass concert, or maybe more like a honkey tonk! Ha! My dad was overwhelmed by the turn out, over 30 people came, bringing banana puddings (daddy's fave) and shocked him with gifts. It was really a great night for my family to get together. We had rain, but at least it waited until we all had a chance to eat outside. Then we had to move the party indoors. Thanks to everyone who came...it was great to see all of you! Not to mention my awesome neice and nephews that Brad and I adore!

Nicole's Birthday in Charleston, SC

This past weekend, we travelled down to Charleston to celebrate my birthday and Memorial Day Weekend. This is a place I used to travel to frequently with my parents when I was young, so it was great to revisit it and see the changes that have taken place over the years. Wow, we absolutely loved it!! Brad and I were both amazed at how cosmopolitan it has become. It was a hip, chic southern town bubbling over with culture and the arts...of course we had a great time! We were pleasantly surprised that an arts festival called the Piccolo Spoleto Festival would be happening this weekend as well. It was a great weekend for the performing and creative arts to show their talents and we were excited to see some of it...we even found a gorgeous, impressionist style painting for our house! On Saturday night, they had a reggae concert out by the US Customs building that was so much fun! You couldn't help but dance!

So, on from that...we stayed at a great place called the Fulton Lane Inn, an old warehouse space, circa 1900, off of King Street that was converted into an inn. It was the perfect location in the heart of the historic district and around the corner from the Market. If you know Brad and I well, you know we love our food. Well, we had a plethora of good eats to choose from in Charleston. This town has become quite the place for wonderful restaurants...from low country shrimp and grits (a favorite of ours!), to oysters on a half shell, to the ultimate foie gras and beautifully plated dishes!! I had the best strawberry shortcake on the house at A.W. Shucks oyster bar to celebrate my birthday! Brad and I planned to only "taste" it but we just kept going and going!!

It was an awesome weekend. Charleston is truly one of the prettiest cities in this country and so rich in history. We took a carriage ride to tour the town and hear it's history and were taken back by how pretty the homes were and how friendly everyone was. It was so great to visit this town together as a couple now...it's even better when you're with your mate!!

This Weekend in Atlanta...A Visit With Jen and Lunch with the Blackmons

This weekend, we were so excited to have my friend Jen visiting from NYC. Jen was my boss at PhysioArts Physical Therapy, where I was the office manager of her clinic that treated primarily the performing arts/Broadway. Through that time of working with Jen, I was blessed to make friends with her and have kept in touch with her beyond NYC. Jen is an amazing physical therapist and has quite the reputation in NYC as THE PT to see among dancers. She was in Atlanta this weekend teaching a PT seminar at Emory University. Fortunate for us, she does this at least once a year! So, we went to dinner with her last night at Baraonda, a great Italian place, in Midtown. We had a great time catching up from when we saw her last in NYC in February. She is doing very well and we can't wait to see her again!

Today, after church, we met Brad's parents for lunch at the OK Cafe, who were in town from Cleveland on a staff retreat. We had a delish lunch, though a bit too stuffed for comfort! So, it was a short visit but a great visit indeed until we see them again next weekend in Hotlanta!

Visit to MaryEllen and David's New Baby Boy Denver

Last Sunday, we visited our friends Mary Ellen and David Wright to see there new baby boy, Denver. Denver was born just 3 weeks ago. I was roommates with MaryEllen in college, along with Ashley Freer, so it was great to see her as a mommy! Their baby is just precious and has the most beautiful red hair, long and lean legs, and sweet long feet! When we first arrived, he was asleep b/c Mew had just fed him, so he was out. I was sitting in their chair holding him when I noticed he was making these cute little noises. Then it suddenly became warm, and I told Mew that I thought he might be pooing when I felt a warm sensation on my stomach...he had peed all over me and I loved it! I felt like I had been christened by him, as if he told me that he felt so comfortable with me that he would pee on me...awh! So, we all laughed so hard and David was like superman, wisping him up out of my arms faster than you can imagine and up the stairs to change him. It was a great moment! Anyway, he is a cutie and the pictures prove it! The Wrights are great parents...little Denver is lucky to have them as his!

Flowers Bloom on our Balcony!

Today, we felt like real homeowners when we headed up to Lowes and bought all kinds of garden stuff to make our outdoor space cozy! I've been wanting to plant flowers out there since February, but Brad insisted that we wait due to the freezing cold...ha! So, I finally got my wish and we were off! We bought some wicker resin chairs a few weeks ago and little table that I've spray painted to meet our decor needs...hehe. That black just didn't work for us! After 2 tries, we found the perfect color.

Next stop, foliage. I wasn't so sure of how to garden, so I kept asking Brad and the Lowes people what was the hardest plants to kill...I know our history with plants and it's not pretty. We're trying to go for a lighter, French look out there, so we went with some wispy looking stuff called Mexican Heather (funny that it's Mexican right and we want a French look :o) ) . Anyway, we mixed that with some impatiens (which I just today learned weren't called impatients) and put that in our baskets hanging over our railing. We bought a Palm for the corner and a cute Ficus tree in another corner. Brad's dad gave us a strawberry vase (I think that's the name) a few weeks ago so we planted a bunch of herbs in each one of the holes...rosemary, lavender, flat leaf parsley, lemon balm, peppermint (smelling good right?). I also got a really pretty Jasmine plant from my mentor teacher at my school this week, so that's really pretty and smells good too! Oh, we also put up some cute lantern lights from Smith and Hawken...nothing like a little ambience. I think that's it. We had quite a mess out there with all the potting soil, but beginners have to start somewhere. So, check out the pics. We're so happy to have a cozy little outdoor nook! Hopefully, we won't have to update this blog in a few months with a bunch of dead flowers!! Ha! Seriously though, we'll be really good about watering them. Enjoy!

A Visit with Aunt Brenda and Uncle Bob

So, this post is a little delayed. We took a few days to visit my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Bob last weekend in Kingsland, GA, near St. Mary's. This is my mom's twin sister and husband who we just adore and find to be more like another set of parents to us. We had a wonderful time with them and feel so blessed that we are able to live so close to them now, well 5 hours is closer than across the Atlantic or NYC!

Anyway, we decided to drive halfway there on Friday and stayed in a hotel that night. We drove the rest of the way on Sat morning and got there just in time for lunch! It was just good, quality time spent with them that we haven't had in years. They live on a golf course, so we spent most of the time on their Clemson golf cart riding around the country club (getting some ugly stares from all the UGA fans) and all over the course! It was so relaxing! Later, we went for a wonderful seafood dinner in this cute place right on the marsh...yum! After an evening of watching the sunset over the marsh, we just hung out at their house, laughing and catching up. They're so much fun to be around...you never know when to believe Uncle Bob...he's a jokester! We had such a great time and can't wait to go back in July, hopefully.

Oh, we also were so fortunate to get a dining table that has been in my family for probably 12o years. It was my great, great, great grandma's on my mom's side (or great, great...we don't know for sure). My family actually used this table when I was 4 years old but we passed it on to my aunt when I was in the 7th grade or so. I am thrilled that we can have this family heirloom, despite it's wear, in our home now. It just adds to the charm! Watch this space for pics from our trip. We took a camera without the battery, so needless to say, we had no pics and had to borrow their camera! I did attach the pic of the table in our home though.

A Weekend in Cleveland (actually we went here the week before Easter!)

We decided to take a quick trip up to Cleveland to see Brad's family before Easter. We always love visiting Andy and Patty and Mamaw and Papaw! We're guaranteed a relaxing weekend! We went on a great walk through the Rolling Hills Golf Course that their church just purchased for a future development. It was perfect for Bleeker since he never gets this much roaming time on his own! We had no leash on him, seeing that the course is no longer open for golfers, and he loved it! Can you imagine us letting him run free on a course with golfers!? Not so sure they'd like that very much! We were caught off guard on our walk, however, when we walked upon a large snake. Bleeker walked right beside it before we even noticed it! We quietly stopped him, picked him up and ran like...!!!!!!! Despite Andy's assurance that it was completely harmless, I live by the theory that no snake is a good snake! So, all in all, we had yet another great weekend with the family!